A campaigning group has slammed the decision to reduce a bus service that runs between Wanstead and Whipps Cross Hospital.

East London’s Save Our Buses (SOB) is speaking out against the W12 bus route being scaled down by a “third”.

John Darnell of SOB said the new schedule will being on Saturday, December 2 and buses will be slashed from three to two buses an hour.

“This cut shows a total disregard for passengers who will spend more time waiting at stops just as winter approaches,” he said.

“Hardest hit will be the most vulnerable bus users and those with reduced mobility.

“The W12 has unique links and provides many Wanstead and South Woodford residents with their direct public transport to Whipps Cross Hospital - we should be improving services not turning the clock back to failed transport policies from 20 years ago.”

SOB’s say its monitoring of the W12’s performance during peak hours has found that services are struggling to cope with traffic delays, buses are running close together instead of being evenly spaced and there are shortened journeys, missing out the ends of the route.

The Monday to Saturday service being reduced has angered campaigners who point out that this takes the service back to levels last seen two decades ago.

“The rapid decline of this service has been shocking,” added Mr Darnell.

“Passenger numbers have slumped 15per cent in three years - it’s a direct result of traffic delays causing poor reliability.

“Cutting the frequency will make things worse but a change of direction is possible and action is needed to get the W12 running reliably.

“This, combined with an enhanced 15-minute frequency, would reverse the decline and encourage more people to board the bus.”

A spokesman for Transport for London (TfL) said. “We constantly monitor and review all services.”

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